Collection inventory

Richard Delafield Letterbook

An inventory of
the item at Syracuse University

Overview of the Collection

Creator:

Delafield, Richard, 1798-1873.

Title:

Richard Delafield Letterbook

Dates:

1846-1849

Quantity:

0.25 linear ft.

Abstract:

Major General, U.S.
Army; Superintendent of U.S. Military Academy, West Point; Chief of Engineers, 1864.
Collection contains one volume, a letterbook belonging to Delafield while in command
of engineers in New York City. Majority of letters are addressed to Joseph G. Totten,
then Chief of Army Engineers.

Biographical History

Richard Delafield (1798-1873) was a Major General in the U.S. Army. A military
engineer, he was Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and Chief
of
Engineers.

Born in New York City, Delafield graduated from West Point in 1818 and embarked on
a
48-year career in the United States military. He served twice as superintendent
of the
U.S. Military Academy at West Point and was engineer on the construction of many
fortifications and coastal defenses,. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he served
under
Major General Edwin D. Morgan, helping to organize and equip New York State forces
for
combat and to superintend the defensive installations for New York City. In 1864
he was
named a brigadier general and Chief of Engineers, a post he filled until his retirement
in 1866.

Delafield was married twice: first to Helen Summers and then after her death to
Harriet Covington, daughter of General E. M. Covington.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Richard Delafield Letterbook contains one letterbook
containing drafts of Delafield's outgoing correspondence from 1846 to 1849, when
he was
in command of engineers in New York City. There are approximately 330 letters,
and an
alphabetical index of recipients is included in the front of the volume.

Most of the letters are addressed to Joseph G. Totten, then Chief of Army Engineers.
The letters deal with construction of fortifications, topological surveys, acquisition
of materials, cost estimates and building expenses. There are also copies of monthly
reports to Totten on defense operations at Fort Schuyler, Fort Richmond, Fort Hamilton
and Fort Wood, with frequent references to other New York fortifications, especially
the
Governor's Island facility.

In the small number of additional letters there is one, dated December 1848, to
Millard Fillmore, then Comptroller of New York State, asking for information from
Fillmore's office. There are also four letters to Henry Cruse Murphy in regard
to land
transactions, and one letter which mentions and quotes Sylvanus Thayer (Brigadier
General, considered "the father of West Point").

Arrangement of the Collection

Single item.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require
advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance
concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and
all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from
any
materials in this collection.